Hey all,

I'd very much appreciate it if one, or more than one could guide/ advise me with purchasing a graphics card thats compabable with my system, thats capable of running games such as WoW with reasonable graphics and something that won't blow my wallet into pieces. I understand that my curren PC isn't great, however, I have reasons for not buying a brand new one as of yet, so I simply need to upgrade the necessary ancient graphic card.

Thanks in advance!

I scouted around alittle and found this card, whether or not its useful, its down to you:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/115850/rb/22638652633

And if necessary (which i'm thinking they are), here are my system specs:

Motherboard Description Manufacturer's name - MS-6577 v2.x
HP/Compaq name - Xenon 3

Motherboard Supplier MS-6577 v2.x
System BIOS Supplier Award
Form Factor uATX
Processor Brand Intel
Processor Socket Type Socket 478
Processor Family Pentium 4 N, Pentium 4 HT
Proc. Front Side Bus Freq. 400/533 MHz
Chipset Name Intel 845G-B
Chipset "North Bridge" Intel 845G-BCH
Chipset "South Bridge" Intel CH4
Super I/O Hub 4
Memory Type DDR
Memory Speed PC2100/PC1600
Memory Sockets Two DDR DIMM (184-pin)
Maximum Memory 1GB (2x512 MB)
Graphics Supplier Intel Extreme Graphics
Graphics Configuration Up/Down
Onboard Graphics Memory UMA 32-64 DDR
Graphics Connector (AGP) AGP 4x
TV-Out Device NO
TV-Out Configuration NO
Audio AC'97 Down - supports Dolby 5.1 audio
AC'97 CODEC Device ADI 1885
Audio Jacks (Legend Below) M,LI,LO, M/G
Ethernet 10/100 LAN Supplier ICS 1893
Ethernet Configuration Integrated, Down
IE 1394 Front/Back Options 1F + 1B
IDE UDMA Modes ATA-100/66/33
Expansion Slots (AGP/PCI/Exten) One AGP, three PCI
USB Ports Six
USB Front/Back Options 2F+4B
Serial, Parallel, Floppy, PS2 Kbd & Mouse 1S,1P,1F,PS2 K+M
Serial Port Front Chassis Option NO
Available Mfg Options (Legend Below) GLAE+S

You have an AGP 4X slot available. Currently you have on-board graphics.

Most current AGP cards are 8X/4X meaning they will work on a 4X board but only at a 4X level rather than 8X i.e. slower.

The other major consideration is the Power Supply. Most current AGP cards want at least a 350 Watt PSU. Many older computers are using 250 Watts.

Also that card you link to is a dual monitor which unless you want to run dual monitors is an unnecessary expense.

Your motherboard also supports up to 1GB of RAM. If you do not have 1GB installed you might also consider that.

That computer is also running at fairly slow hardware speeds. An AGP card will be a big difference but I doubt that any very High end games will play on it as well as they would on a new system.

WoW for example has problems running on a lot of even new computers. I would call that game very high end.

Yes, I see what you mean. Could you recommend any cards, seeing as your quite obviously more informed about these things, heh.

And i've already upgraded my RAM to 1GB.

Thanks jephree

I personally prefer ATI cards. Look at the Gaming options here:

http://ati.amd.com/products/home-office.html

You want an AGP 8X/4X.

Most of the latest models are PCI_E which your motherboard does not support.

Again the Power Supply question is also key. You will see in most card specs a minimum PSU demand.

Anyway browse through those ATI cards and ask further questions.

Okay, I think i've found just the card.

Its x4/x8 AGP, but i'm not too sure about the voltage needed. However, I can upgrade my crrent voltage easy enough, right?

Heres the link for the card, and the link below offers its specifications:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/118281

http://ati.amd.com/products/RadeonX1650/specs.html

Here is a little more detail on that card:

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx...90000,42220000

Check the specification as well.

Looks like a nice card.

Wish I could find more details as to the power requirements.

I'm going to phone the company up tomorrow and ask them about power requirements. If I do need an upgrade, is there anything in particular I should look out for?

Unfortunately the only way to know what Wattage your PSU is is to open the case and look at it.

There will be a label on the side with all the specs.

A card like that probably wants at least a 350 Watt PSU.

If you only have a 250 Watt it might be a problem.

New good power supplies can be had for around $50 US